The black unicorn : poems

The more poetry I read, the more I'm starting to understand what I love in a collection. I want a thread, a theme, a constant idea that connects. I want free verse and strict form, a mix of flow and form that ebbs and weaves a story of a time, a place, a person, a mythology. Playfulness mixed with seriousness—just like life: that constant swerving from joy to sadness to anger and back again. And more than anything, I want to know the trees, the birds, the insects, the flowers, all of the nature that surrounds that time, place, person. Ecopoetry seems to be my sweet spot. This collection does so much of what I love, with an added bonus at the end explaining some of the African mythological figures that I (shamefully) knew nothing show more about.

There are ideas from this collection that will live in my head like "psychic graffiti." "Compromise is a coffin nail" seems to be what Congress believes. "I have died too many deaths / that were not mine" says SO MUCH about the pain and suffering of a lifetime. I loved BUT WHAT CAN YOU TEACH MY DAUGHTER :

when she talks of liberation
she means freedom
from that pain
she knows
what you know
can hurt
but what you do
not know
can kill.

But there's also a lot that went right over my head, I tried to parse out the meaning and got stuck. I need a course on Audre Lorde. show less

African folklore collides with the modern world in this provocative collection of poetry. Lorde explores darkness here, the beauty of black and the deep abyss of sorrow. A common style in these poems is to have one thought collide with the next, a line of text in the middle rubbing against both of the lines above and below it, so that it becomes torn between two different meanings.

Many of these poems are laced with anger and many lovingly paying homage to people either real and mythical. It's a beautiful and brutal collection that lingers, leaving one with a sense of uncertainty to the places they've just been.

Her poetry is as brilliant as her prose. Some of these poems more than resonated today and were difficult and painful to read, especially Power about the ten year old Black boy Sean Bell who was killed by a racist police officer in 1973.

I enjoyed this volume of poetry, and really connected to some of the poems. Others had less personal meaning to me, partly because I don't have a lot in common with the poet. However, even the ones I didn't personally connect with were usually very powerful and often emotional.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that one of my ambitions for 2016 was to read more poetry. A few days ago I found a couple of reviews over on GR which recommended Lorde's work.

I have no intention of writing much about my impressions of her poetry or try an interpretation based on the author's life and experience (as if I could). Some of the poems were more tangible than others, but I thought I'd offer up some examples:

*****
COPING

It has rained for five days
running
the world is
a round puddle
of sunless water
where small islands
are only beginning
to cope
a young boy
in my garden
is bailing out water
from his flower patch
when I ask him why
he tells me
young seeds that have not seen
sun
forget
and drown easily.

***
CONTACT LENSES

Lacking what they want to show more see
makes my eyes hungry
and eyes can feel
only pain.


Once I lived behind thick walls
of glass
and my eyes belonged
to a different ethic
timidly rubbing the edges
of whatever turned them on.
Seeing usually
was a matter of what was
in front of my eyes
matching what was
behind my brain.
Now my eyes have become
a part of me exposed
quick risky and open
to all the same dangers.

I see much
better now
and my eyes hurt. show less

there were some POWERFUL poems in there but i need a reread to really get all the others

"your love runs through me like undigested spinach" is an unforgettable line and worth the price of admission